VANCOUVER -- Rick Tocchet wants top center Elias Pettersson to improve the way he trains this offseason after his struggles with health and performance played a big role in the Vancouver Canucks missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Petersson revealed he missed the final 12 games of a disappointing season with an oblique injury, finishing with 45 points (15 goals, 30 assists) and a minus-10 rating in 64 games. It was the worst season of the 26-year-old’s NHL career, and it came in the first year of a team-record eight-year, $92.8 million ($11.6 average annual value) contract extension he signed on March 2, 2024.
His coach was blunt about what Pettersson needs to improve for next season.
“I think he'll tell you that his preparation has to get better,” Tocchet said. “There's no secret, if you want to be a great player, you have to prepare, almost to that obsessive type of preparation. … He's got to practice better. … He's learning and do I think he will do those things? I do. I really do. I think I can bank on him taking this information, going away for four months, and make sure he has a plan and the plan has to change. I'm not sure he can train the same way. ... To be honest with you, that's got to change.”
Petterson cited knee tendinitis for slowing last summer’s training but plans to stay in Vancouver longer this offseason -- something general manager Patrik Allvin suggested in a recent interview with Sportsnet -- before going back to Sweden.
Pettersson didn’t have an answer for why his speed has dropped off significantly over the past two seasons, according to NHL EDGE stats, including a drop in top speed from the 94th percentile in 2022-23 to the 72nd this past season. He had an even bigger reduction in the number of speed bursts of more than 20 miles per hour, from the 88th percentile two seasons ago to the 53rd percentile this year.
Pettersson did, however, concede he needs to get stronger.
“Strength doesn't come easy for me … didn't get the best genetics from the parents,” Pettersson said. “I'm going to take this time to take advantage of the extra month of training to come in great for next season. … I'm not perfect. I'm trying to be, but it’s been a lot of adversity this year. I'm always trying to believe I can grow from it.”
On Monday, team president Jim Rutherford said Pettersson needs to be all-in to get back to being the franchise player he's been.
"So he's going to have to buy into being a complete player. He's going to have to buy into working hard," Rutherford said. "I can give you some good news: It's a small step, but he's been in here working every day now for the last few days, and that's what we like to see. And we know that he's working hard, he's not just stopping in for a cup of coffee. So that's a good sign, but he's going to have to do that all summer. He's going to have to buy into what the coach wants him to do, and part of buying in is being a complete player if you want to have a contending team."
Part of Pettersson's adversity included a rift with former teammate J.T. Miller that Tocchet said got “uncomfortable” this season. Miller was traded to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31 and replacing his offense production is a priority this offseason, but it won’t be easy.
"The center position is vital in the NHL to go anywhere and that's what we got to strengthen now, whether it's through trades, free agency, or drafts,” Tocchet said. "You just can't get one off the street. You got to find them. It's going to be tough."
Said Rutherford: "He's a guy that's always going to be able to get his points, but can you be a contending team with your top player just getting points? And I can answer that question. The answer is, No, you can't."
Vancouver may also have to replace two of the top three goal-scorers on a team that finished 23rd in goals, averaging 2.84 per game. Brock Boeser and Pius Suter each scored 25 goals this season, trailing only Jake DeBrusk (28 goals) on the Canucks, and each can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, as can veteran defenseman Derek Forbort, who broke his orbital bone on April 12.
Goalie Thatcher Demko has one year remaining on his contract but said on Friday he’d "like to get an extension done and stay."
Vancouver management met with the media Monday to review the season, but the offseason priority may be their coach.
Tocchet won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season and the team has an option on his existing contract to bring him back next season, but Tocchet said he needs to take some time before considering an extension beyond that.
“All year I haven’t breathed,” Tocchet said. “I haven’t really thought of myself. I know people don't believe that. … I do have to take a breath and go through that. Out of respect for both sides, you have to go through the process. You have to.”
Rutheford said the team will offer him a new contract, but won't force him to stay.
